Ukraine war updates: daily briefings as of March 24, 2016

(1) Russian armed forces and their proxies continue ceasefire regime violation in the warzone in eastern Ukraine with the use of forbidden by the Minsk agreements arms; they opened fire 53 times over the last 24 hours there, including 48 times on Donetsk direction and 5 times on Mariupol direction;

(2) Luhansk direction: the situation was calm over the last day;

(3) Donetsk direction: Ukrainian positions in Yakovlyvka, Staromykhaylivka, Lozove and Donetsk airport came under Russian armed forces 82- and 120-mm mortars fire; Russian proxies near Lozove also opened fire from APCs, mortart and grenade launchers; most intensive Russian shelling upon Ukrainian armed forces positions took place near Avdyivka, Zaytseve, Mayorsk, Pisky, Opytne, Luhanske and Krasnogoryvka; the enemy actively used mortars and armored vehicles as well as sniper fire;

(4) Mariupol direction: Russians fired upon Ukrainian positions near Shyrokino, Novovyboivka and Dokuchaevsk with the use of 120-mm mortarts; Russian UAV was spotted near the settlement of Bogdanyvka; combats between Russian and Ukrainian forces took place near Novotroytske and Dokuchaevsk; 2 Russian shelling took place also there;

(5) Russian military jet MI-8, originally based in occupied Crimea violated airspace over Ukraine in Kherson Oblast near the village of Strylkove, where gas distribution station is located;

(5) No lethal casualties reported among Ukrainian serviceme in the war zone in eastern Ukraine over the last 24 hours, but 6 servicemen were wounded, 4 wounded in action and 2 hit a mine.